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To treat abnormalities of nerve cells, a global team of neurobiologists has devised a method of delivering protein treatments via the blood-brain barrier using a parasite. The team modified the parasite Toxoplasma gondii to generate a protein to treat a brain ailment in their study, which was published in Nature Microbiology.
The team’s work has been documented in a Research Briefing published in the same edition of the journal.
The difficulty of getting medication beyond the blood-brain barrier has made treating several brain diseases challenging. By creating a parasite that is naturally able to cross the barrier, the research team for this new study was able to navigate around this issue.
Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasite in warm-blooded mammals, and previous study has shown that it may easily spread from the gut to the brain. The majority of people infected with the parasite are unaware of it; however, some acquire toxoplasmosis, a disorder that can cause a variety of neurological difficulties.
Previous study has revealed that the parasite contains three organelles that produce chemicals for its own needs. The researchers altered two of them to secrete proteins that are now used to treat certain neurological disorders. Then they tested them to see whether or not they worked.
The team next tested their modified parasite on live mice in three different ways. Initially, they injected the mice with saline containing modified T. gondii. In the second study, they used non-engineered T. gondii, and in the third, saline was injected instead of T. gondii.
The team discovered that altering T. gondii did not impair its ability to pass the blood-brain barrier or cause inflammation. They propose that this is only the first step in applying the method to treat neurological problems in the future.
Sources:
Shahar Bracha et al. (2024). Engineering Toxoplasma gondii secretion systems for intracellular delivery of multiple large therapeutic proteins to neurons, Nature Microbiology. DOI: 10.1038/s41564-024-01750-6
https://phys.org/news/2024-07-parasite-therapy-proteins-nerve-cells.html
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